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Topic: U Talkin U2 To Me? Podcast (Read 13578 times)

The band just did an hour long interview with them. It is on earwolf. If you aren't familiar with this podcast, it is by Scott Aukermann and Adam Scott and they love the band. I haven't listened yet but this should be great!

Thanks for the link. I thought it was a great interview. I took a lot of notes, and will try to make them more readable than the first time I posted them.

Edge asks "when did you start [the podcast]"?One of the Adam/Scott guys [and I apologize but have no idea who these people are but gather they are actors?] says "about a year and a half ago, right around when the rumors that the album would be imminent." [Which should have elicited guffaws but did not.]

There is a long discussion of wrapping paper, which is funny but not very relevant to new music, and band missed an opportunity to refer to Adam's wrapping-paper-studio as his "blue room."

Interviewers ask what band U2 would cover if they had a fan podcast, and Edge answers the Clash. Adam chooses the Bob Marley Band. Later in the interview, Bono chooses the Beatles, which he is reminded of because he just came from the John Lennon appearance with Yoko Ono. [Has anyone ever gotten so much mileage out of a spouse?]

Edge says early on the band "banned the blues scale" to find new approaches and sounds. Edge's original echo machine was an "electro-harmoix deluxe memorygram." [I may have spelled that wrong.]

Interviewers ask about Bono and the guitar, and he says he can play guitar with "one finger." Larry jokes that he isn't sorry because it's [Bono's guitar] "one less thing to get hit on the head with." Bono notes he is just okay playing on stage with a guitar, but he held onto the guitar "tightly" as a songwriter, (and clearly misses that). He might have surgery to get further range of motion back. But he has some other mechanical problems that don't relate to the nerve damage, and this sounds like it is many weeks off. [That seems like unlikely timing to me given that they start the tour up again in September.]

Bono tells stories about hanging out with Paul McCartney. The most interesting part is Bono taking note of how U2 staying friends has (my words) kept U2 going and made extraordinary music possible. He laments that the Beatles, and the Stones, could not stay together and stay friends, because "imagine them making music now." [I am unconvinced. Half of it is being friends. The other half is having the creative energy and discipline to keep going. I'm not sure any other band has both those things].

Bono tells his Quincy Jones story again about waiting for God to come in the room when making music. (He gets a lot of mileage out of that one!)

Interviewer makes the excellent point that SOI in particular could not have been made without the band having stayed mates. Edge agrees, but notes the difficulty of justifying leaving families for touring, and that they wouldn't do the tour at all if the songs didn't deserve it. Edge mentions it took going back to their youth to make this record. Adam suggests that the band needs an environment where it is "safe to fail" and that they were humbled by how hard making the music is. It's unclear to me whether he's talking about this album in particular or just in general.

Larry says he met a kid who says "I'm a street drummer like you" and Larry says "great, do your own thing." [which cracks me up]

Interviewers wisely note there are three-album cycles for the band, and asks if U2 agrees with that paradigm. Edge sort of agrees, but adds you can break down phases of the band and break down albums into different chapters. "The final suite of a U2 album seems to be the last three songs," says Edge. [I am left wondering if the band does not get the Boy-War; TUF-R&H; AB-Pop; etc., troikas].

This new album seems like the start of something, says one interviewer, and Bono corrects them that it's the first half of something new, and the new album will be out next year, "Songs of Experience," he calls it. Bono says he wants to "move away from the literalness [sic] of the album" and focus "more on just the songs." [Which is a curious comment since I recently read the band talking about how they are really more of an album-band than a singles band.]

Bono says it's "easy" to mess around writing long songs with Brian Eno, for example, but it's hard discipline to write a 3 and a half minute song. Bono agrees with interviewer comment that SOI is relatively simple and some people got it (I think he mentioned Mojo) but some people didn't. Bono mentions SBS and BD as examples of some of their best songs and that anything they put out now has to be as good if not better.

According to the interviewers, Bono is implying that the album was overproduced. I didn't get that, but I know it's been discussed a lot. Bono says they are pleased with the songs and they get validation on the songs from the energy of the crowd. Again he mentions the Ramones and how brilliant the songs are and can never be written again. [Really, Bono?]

Interviewer notes at the time he thought Bomb was his favorite and asks how the ability to make good songs connects with the ability of U2 to be friends. [I feel like this question is asked of the band too often.] Indeed, Edge sort of responds in a different tack, saying that "melody lines" get "worn out" and "culture finds new ones," and the band is inquisitive about culture, so their listening to new music informs the creation. "There are bands that have a heyday and have not moved on from that, ever." [Pearl Jam leaps to my mind but Edge does not mention them. Actually we could probably come up with a very long list--that's the story of most artists to be frank.]

Larry's current favorite movie, which he watches at home with his kids, who love it, is "School of Rock."

Larry notes that during the shows he can't move easily, so he gets distracted by fans more than the others, who can just move away from fans taking too many pictures or what have you. [Unclear how taking a picture will interfere and it makes me wonder if he means something more intrusive].

Interviewers ask about the I&E tour. Bono says this is a "few shows in a show." "It starts off like a simple rock show, then it's like somebody slips something into your drink, and it's very unrock and roll. But it's quite punk rock to bring up these emotions." [No, Bono, it's quite U2 to do that. You long ago transcended punk rock.]

Bono notes the first part of the show is about losing firsts (e.g., loves or political innocence), which takes away the innocence. He then says after that "the machines" come along with Fly and Wanderer, and then you're "happy to be alive" and "we have a bit of fun with that," and then love and church comes in. Bono advocates for "Glide" Church in San Francisco, where he says he felt that "ecstatic thing." "When it goes great, these shows are a wild ride," but "trying to remember where you're standing during the animation is tricky." Edge also notes the difficulty of choreography even when his wife makes suggestions.

Interviewer smartly suggests that music is not reflecting the political conflicts and issues of the day in the USA. Bono agrees, "there's no rage." Edge also agrees, there's no angst. Edge brings up the gun violence by individuals and shootings by police in the USA and I think implies that the musical landscape doesn't reflect this angst.

In their music, even though this is what everyone says not to talk about, Edge wants to talk politics and religion, because that's what matters to people.

Bono notes [this was a little murky for me] that "kids in France" think want to just burn down the whole thing, and notes rage is okay, and "hip-hop is quite good at that," but in the USA, [in a massive shift of topic] he doesn't feel that either the left or the right is being honest and manufacturing jobs are not coming back and the education program to handle that doesn't exist. [Bono may be right, but it's a bizarre segue.]

Television and movies is discussed again, and Bono says one of his favorite TV shows is "Modern Family," which the interviewers say the band should appear on to get an Emmy.

"We rank all your stuff. Do you rank your own material? What are your top three songs?" [Great question by interviewers]

Today, Larry's favorites to play is Cedarwood Road, One, and SBS.

Bono doesn't like singing Ms. Sarajevo if Pavoratti isn't around, but that's one of his favorites. He also loves Stay [which is my personal fantasy to get pulled up on stage with the band to play some day, so I'm crossing my fingers for the second NA leg]. And Every Breaking Wave.

Edge likes Running to Standstill, UTEOTW, and Streets, "just because it's so much fun to play." Then I think the interviewers point out the guitar part for One was playing even after the band left the stage at one of the LA concerts, and Edge corrects him it was ISHFWILF, and that the radio leads allows him to play even as they are leaving, "almost to the car park." Interviewers are mocked for getting the song wrong. Again, not sure I understood this exchange but it was interesting to hear.

Adam chooses Heartland. [Yes!!]. A Man and a Woman. [great bass line]. And Moment of Surrender. Edge quietly agrees MOS was very good.

"Was this a fun record, Adam?" Adam really liked their collaborators who listened very carefully to the bass. He says a lot of his bass contributions stuck in this record for whatever reason, joking, "since I've been around for a while." "Because I don't practice much, I have to come up with solutions to some of the problems [with playing]."

*Majority of new album discussion begins at 1:50.*

Is SOE coming next year? Bono "hopes so."

Edge thinks it will come down to a straight forward decision. "We have a lot of great material" as "we did with Zooropa." For Zooropa Edge says they "played a trick" of planning to just put out six tracks, that's it, but then they "got them really quick," so "Bono said, 'actually we have another four, let's just push a little harder and it could be a full album.'"

Edge thinks the songs are there for SOE. And they could put out an album in the short term, but if it would have to be one of those that has to be absolutely perfect, then....

Edge says they have made a few albums that are more experimental on purpose, including No Line, which started very experimental and wasn't intended to be a normal U2 album [my summary], and then they realized others don't think that way, they just think "is it a U2 album?" well then it needs to have great songs. "Zooropa had great songs," and interviewer cuts in to say he liked it better than AB. [WTF? Why would you say that? Are you insane? And why are you cutting off the Edge?]

Bono says they have a lot of momentum now and he thinks he hasn't been this good as a singer before, so Bono thinks they can make one of their best albums now.

More Zooropa discussion ensues. Edge says Stay was a verse composed for Ultraviolet, but they didn't think it fit in that song, so saved it and worked on it later.

Bono suggests it's hard to like your stuff on the radio. [I don't have a clue what he's talking about or if I understood him correctly.]

In the studio, Edge says they know it when something really powerful arrives, with a special quality, this is essential to being in a band and a songwriter. [Shades of Zoo Interference interview with Edge talking about the "songs that just arrive."]

Interviewer suggests there is a lot of energy and power in "California (There is No End to Love)" but channeled in a pop-direction. Edge says "if the song asks for that, that's fine" but "it's exhausting" to try to fit a pop paradigm onto a non-pop song. Bono claims it's the bass part that propels California, Adam says it's like a Ramones song, and Bono says that song really takes him away.

Bono says he is checking his phone to "see if we have any Songs of Experience on it" to play. Interviewers sort of freak out, then rest of band changes topic and Adam gives them swag gift bag.

[At the time I think Bono was just screwing with them, but afterwards they say he played them two snippets of two songs, and then Bono got so into it, according to the interviewers, he played them four complete songs!]

Interviewers describe three new songs for SOE and "one for something else." They describe:

1. First song is a "kick ass album opener." Huge drums. Bono hearsay is that it's "his favorite drum part and sonic part." Interviewers say it sounds a little more experimental.2. The second song they say "I feel like this is the next single" Perfect pop song. Very catchable. Very pretty. But driving anthemic song. Beautiful and so catchy. 3. Third song was a big epic U2 song. Arena going crazy for song. Classic U2 song. But also a little more experimental than Songs of Innocence.4. They did not describe the fourth song.

Interviewers opine they are finished SOE songs.

At the end, the interviewers talk about the ATU2 anniversary party, and the surprise (note that the club knew beforehand that Edge and Adam were showing up--which I hadn't heard before), and tell the story about Dallas coming on stage (after they eventually remember his name), how he fiddled with the guitar, etc., and then Edge and Adam walk on stage and the two interviewers were there watching. A lot of description of the anniversary party from their perspective.

It was a really great interview. A few oddities but in some ways having non professional interviewers interview the band instead of just another "journalist" from a newspaper or a trade journal elicited more interesting answers and candor. And we didn't have to sit through the obligatory finger-wagging about the iTunes release. Well done.